The Al-Attiyah Foundation, the leading energy and sustainable development think tank in Qatar, will host global experts for its quarterly CEO Roundtable and Senior Energy Managers Dialogue on 19 and 20 March 2019. Both events will explore the significant challenges, emerging trends, and potential solutions for reducing methane emissions across the oil and gas industry.

The highly interactive and content driven CEO Roundtables and Energy Dialogues allow Government Ministers, Industry Leaders, and Deans from local universities to engage with world-experts on the chosen theme: ‘’Reducing Methane Emissions from Energy-Related Extractive Activities.”

HE Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Chairman of the Al-Attiyah Foundation, launched the CEO Roundtable Series and Dialogues to provide a platform for knowledge exchange and support for the global community in the quest towards a sustainable energy future. All guests have the opportunity to share their opinions and insights in what is always a lively and thought-provoking discussion.

The invited expert speakers have a wealth of knowledge and experience on the subject: Scott Foster, Director, Sustainability Energy Division, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), has more than 35 years’ experience in energy, and has worked extensively with governments, industry and international organisations on energy policy; Braulio Pikman, Expert Advisor, Environmental Resources Management (ERM), is a regular speaker at world-class events such as CERAWeek and also a member of the UNFCCC Methodology Panel since 2005; and Dr Ioannis Economou, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has published over 195 peer-reviewed research papers and given over 300 presentations.

Reducing methane emissions from energy-related extractive activities could be a win-win solution for delivering on the global promises to tackle climate change. However, despite readily available technology, there is still a relatively low global effort in the monitoring, reporting, and abating of methane emissions. The situation is changing, with several initiatives now being undertaken by the industry and multi-stakeholder groups. In 2017, a group of eight companies signed a set of ‘Guiding Principles on Reducing Methane Emissions across the Natural Gas Value Chain’ including the Al-Attiyah Foundation’s member, Qatar Petroleum, and partners ExxonMobil and Shell.

The thoughts and commentary from the CEO Roundtable and the Energy Dialogue will be captured in a white paper for Al-Attiyah Foundation members, and available on the Al-Attiyah Foundation’s website later in the year.